The present invention relates to an image processing method and an image forming apparatus, such as a digital copying machine, for reading an image on a color original by image reading means such as a color scanner, processing the read image data, and forming an image by means of a printer.
In the prior art, input image data is subjected to a filtering process to control the degree of sharpness.
When the sharpness is controlled and it is desired to vary the degree of sharpness among plural areas such as character areas/photo areas, this desire can be satisfied by adopting a structure permitting setting of the degree of sharpness in the respective areas.
However, since the degree of freedom in setting the filtering process is high, a plurality of control codes need to be treated and a great deal of time is consumed for the control.
For example, when the copy mode (standard, character, photo, etc.) is selected according to the kind of originals, if priority is put on characters in the original mode, the sharpness of the character area is enhanced. If priority is put on a photo area, a control has to be executed to prevent moire from occurring in the photo area.